Al-Salami: Stores request an increase in the prices of products to compensate for VAT

A parliamentary proposal not to exclude any consumer goods from the requirement that the «economy» agree to raise prices

During the "national" session held in the middle of last week. From the source

A member of the Federal National Council, Obaid Al-Ghoul Al-Salami, confirmed that the approval of the Ministry of Economy on the request of consumer goods companies and stores to raise the prices of their products and goods, before the month of Ramadan, which is considered the largest period in consumption, as well as the Eid period, will open the door for the rest of the companies to apply to raise their prices with the application of the added tax, warning that some stores will resort to requesting an increase in the prices of their products as an excuse to compensate for the value of the tax.

Al-Salami submitted a parliamentary proposal, in response to a question he addressed to the Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al-Marri, during the session of the Federal National Council, which was held in the middle of last week, to cancel any exceptions for consumer products or goods from the requirement of government approval to raise their prices, so that all goods require prior approval from the ministry, which will curb the rise in prices, and there will be no disparity in prices, pointing out that there is currently a disparity in prices between one outlet and another from two dirhams to 20 dirhams. and more.

Al-Salami said to «Emirates Today»: «The citizen is educated, educated, intelligent and loving his homeland, he does not follow some of the methods used in some countries of the world when traders raise prices, where they boycott goods, the citizen does not harm the country's economy, but supports it, is it not more right to ease it instead of restricting it by some traders, traders when they apply to raise prices for their products are approved on their requests, in return when the citizen demands to mitigate the rise in prices ignores the ministry, and provides justifications, and this Where is the balanced relationship between the merchant and the consumer that the ministry calls for? Every month we hear about an increase in the prices of some goods and services, and a message must be delivered to traders that the citizen's salary has not been increased, which is fixed today, and therefore the high prices burden citizens, and the salary is eroding."

He pointed out that the Ministry of Economy approved last year, a new policy regarding the pricing mechanism for consumer goods, through which it divided pricing into two groups, the first is subject to the condition of prior approval in the event that the supplier or trader wishes to raise the price of a commodity as a result of the high costs and increase in the country of origin, and then obligated him to provide evidence and reasons, to be studied by the ministry, and decide in the case of approval of the percentage of increase, while the second group was excluded from prior approval, and thus opened the way for everyone By raising prices according to his desire, and this created another dilemma for us, which is the existence of a disparity in the prices of goods from one outlet to another, which means that a certain commodity can be sold at different prices between outlets.

Al-Salami said that he submitted a proposal to merge the first and second groups, so that all goods without exceptions are obliged, with the prior approval of the ministry, which will curb the rise in prices, and there will be no disparity in prices, especially since this disparity is currently estimated between one port and another from two dirhams to 20 dirhams and more.

He said: «There are outlets that have fixed the prices of different commodities, so that they do not rise for a year, and this also has a kind of circumvention and maintaining the gains of the rises, because we are at a time when we are waiting for prices to fall because the cost has decreased, especially since these rises in prices occurred when a barrel of oil was worth $ 120, and now the price is lower, so how do you fix prices at high prices?».

Ethical system

A member of the Federal National Council, Obaid Al-Ghoul Al-Salami, stressed the importance of building an ethical system at large and small sales outlets, with regard to protecting consumer rights, and that the ministry's control procedures should not be a reaction, and that control must be intensified by deploying more inspectors in the markets, and if there is a shortage in the number of inspectors of the ministry, citizens must be employed, to ensure that all areas and sales outlets are covered, calling on the ministry to establish a database of commodity prices at the Gulf level, to ensure that it compares prices. Flexibly and quickly, prices are reviewed monthly like petroleum.